How Firm A Foundation (1 Kings 5)

How Firm A Foundation
(1 Kings 5)

Today’s Scripture is all about building. If you’ve done any kind of do-it-yourself building around your house you know that feeling of having to run back to the store for a missing screw, tool or gallon of paint. But building right matters not just for literal building but for building Spiritual strength and credibility as well. When JESUS uses the illustrations many years after this chapter of counting the cost before starting building and being sure the building has a firm foundation He’s talking about Spiritual strength.

Let’s look at how these lessons from Solomon’s life and building projects so long ago apply to building our Spiritual lives today.

First we see that Solomon’s inspiration was a solid relationship with a qualified expert. Hiram was a king himself who had a great friendship and loyalty with David and for love of David served Solomon. This worked both ways because Solomon knew what a great relationship his father King David and Hiram had. He also knew that Hiram had both the materials, know-how and manpower to help him build the Temple.

In our Spiritual lives we must first have a healthy relationship with GOD through Christ then build relationships with those who have healthy relationships with JESUS Christ for themselves. This includes going to a church where the Bible is taught as the inerrant, infallible word of GOD. And where the Gospel is preached of the sinless Son of GOD, JESUS Christ, fully GOD and fully Man, born of a virgin, paid the punishment of death on a cross in our place and physically and Spiritually rising from the dead to give us eternal Life. We must not only know and believe this but build relationships with others who do and attend a church where this is taught.

The Christian life was never meant to be lived or built alone. When those times come, as in any relationship, our strength or affections for the LORD feel shaken by the storms of circumstance, we need the support of strong Believers. And our strength will only be as strong as their relationship with Christ and our relationship with them in those times. That applies to every relationship, from friends to Pastor to dates to marriage partner. Surround yourself with Spiritual strength to stay Spiritually strong.

And you’ll notice Solomon had two different kinds of workers. There were forced laborers and regular laborers. These forced laborers were foreigners who had been kept alive rather than killed when Israel had taken over the land. They were unbelievers. It was against the Law of GOD to make fellow Israelites into forced labor.

Christians, as we will learn in the New Testament, are to be in the world but not of it. We can surround ourselves with Spiritually strong people but we must also work with and for unbelievers and have them work for us. We don’t live in a vacuum. But we can still use the good of what unbelievers say and do. And they may be in our lives for the very reason of our being godly examples to them. Jewish scholars say that many laborers volunteered to work for Israel and became converts from idolatry because of the goodness of GOD they saw reflected in His treatment of His people and their treatment of others. Are we enhancing GOD’s reputation by our treatment of unbleievers?

One of those qualities is wisdom. Solomon was wise and shared that wisdom for the good of others. He counted the cost and second and third order effects. He had plans and budgets.

And we must build our Spiritual lives with wisdom as well. It is GOD Who wills and works His good pleasure in us. We must check daily to make sure we’re being built according to His plans. That means daily time in prayer, Bible study, and checking with GOD how the Spiritual construction project in you is going. The goal is strength in Christ, supported by others who are strong in Christ, with a plan to stay that way.

The Body of Christ is made up of every Believer joined together. We are His Temple on earth. And by following these steps in our Spiritual lives that Solomon took as he built the literal Temple, we can be sure that we, like that Temple, have a firm foundation.